From Africa Recovery, Vol.12#4 (April 1999), page 20 (part of special feature: "Namibia: Country in Focus")
Namibia: making democracy work
After the political, economic reconciliation is now the 'second phase of our struggle'
A country which went through a bitter and prolonged war of liberation, Namibia celebrated its ninth year of independence in March. In an interview with Africa Recovery, Prime Minister Hage Geingob talks about his government's efforts to foster democracy and development.
By Peter Mwaura
Since independence, Namibia has been relatively peaceful and stable.
How have you managed this?
Our struggle was about peace. We, therefore, upon achieving independence,
adopted a policy of national reconciliation. We said we had a bitter past,
we hated each other, but after independence we should hold hands. We should
live together and forget the past and forge ahead, because we all belong
to Namibia and must do what we have to do to live in peace.
How did you sell the policy of reconciliation to the whites?
Swapo, headquartered in Lusaka during the struggle, initiated the policy.
We started to invite some whites to come out to Zambia to meet us. They
didn't know us as ordinary human beings, that we also had basic needs like
they did, like wanting our children to have three square meals a day, and
to go to school, and come back unmolested. So when they discovered that
we have the same desires, they accepted the policy of reconciliation.
Does reconciliation in practice mean an acceptance of socio-economic
inequalities?
No. Unfortunately, there are some white Namibians who think the policy of
reconciliation was derived from a position of weakness. They feel that it's
a one-way street -- that we should reconcile and they maintain their privileged
positions. We have now achieved political reconciliation. Now we must move
together as citizens to look at economic reconciliation. And that is very
difficult. That's what we call the second phase of our struggle.
Some 5 per cent of Namibians, mainly white, control 72 per cent of
GDP. Annual incomes range from an average of US$14,000 for whites to US$85
for the poorest blacks. What are you doing about this skewed distribution
of wealth?
Affirmative action, which has been applied in societies where there was
racial discrimination, is part of the economic reconciliation. In Namibia
the policy is being applied by favouring the majority who were disadvantaged
during the colonial era. But we don't do it at the expense of lowering standards.
We say that if two people apply for a government job -- one white, one black
-- we will give preference to the black person who may have the same qualifications
but less experience, because experience you only gain when you are on board.
After having been excluded, we say it's nonsense to demand experience. Now,
the same affirmative action will apply to women, white or black, but mostly
to black women who were also left out like black men.
And in the private sector?
Affirmative action policy is working at government level because we are
in charge of that, but not in the private sector. The government is going
to introduce a bill in parliament to require the private sector to apply
affirmative action. The bill, however, will take some time because you have
to consult all the stakeholders.
How far have you gone in leveling the economic playing field?
Namibia is trying to level the playing field so the black people and the
coloureds who were left out can enter the mainstream of economic activities.
The government has already achieved this in the lucrative fishing industry.
We have decided to have quotas for new entrants in the business, so that
blacks and coloureds are given quotas [86 per cent of Namibians are black,
7.4 per cent mixed and 6.6 per cent white]. They use their quotas to negotiate
with owners of fishing boats to catch for them.
The government plans to do the same with the other economic activities. But it does not want to level the playing field by taking away from the rich people, bringing them down to the poverty level of the others. First enlarge the cake, because the problem is caused by the small cake we have. You invite local and foreign investors and create the conditions conducive for investment. And one of the conditions is peace. So in these nine years, we've been doing that. If you have peace, democracy, then you have created the conditions for foreign investors to come in. And, by so doing, hopefully you enlarge the cake.
How are you solving the problem of unemployed Swapo ex-fighters?
We realized that we trained them to fight -- that's the only skill they
have. So immediately after independence, we set up the Development Brigade
to try to retrain them, give them skills. But their minds are set that they
must carry the gun, so even if we give them a project, they want to join
the army. Now, obviously in peacetime, you don't have to have a big army.
So our army is very small. But what we are doing therefore is to pass a
pension bill for veterans so that those who are old, or those who are injured,
etc., can be retired and at least get a monthly income. Those who are still
able-bodied may be absorbed into the army or police; those who are handicapped
may be given a pension.
The ex-combatants are saying it took too long to look into their plight, which is true. They are saying they have been very peaceful, they have been waiting, and that we only act when they agitate. So we are now saying they're right. Let's stop everything and have a comprehensive approach and end this problem once and for all.
In changing the constitution to allow President Nujoma to stand for
a third term of office, are you not sending the wrong message about democracy
in Namibia?
In the last elections, we got a two-thirds majority, which means that the
people wanted Swapo. And they knew that with a two-thirds majority we could
amend the constitution. They delegated us to go to the parliament on their
behalf and do responsible things. And giving President Nujoma a third term
is one of the responsible things. We are doing what is good for Namibia,
not for the US or UK. The peace we have had for the last nine years is not
there just because we said there must be peace. Somebody must be leading
the people to maintain that peace, a leader who has united us and brought
tranquillity. We are also saying this person has been a founding father
of our nation. He's a person who sacrificed all his life for Namibia. And
we are saying, since we didn't prepare our people psychologically, as Mandela
has done [by grooming Thabo Mbeki to take over], the two terms he has had
are too short.
Are you not setting a dangerous precedent?
President Nujoma's third term is a one-time only provision. There are no
precedents to be set. Technically speaking, his first term was transitional.
He was elected, not by people as the constitution requires, but by a constituent
assembly. And given the fact that he's a founding father and we want peace
to continue, let's allow him to continue for five more years only.
We did not touch the restrictive clause of the constitution, which limits the presidential term to two five-year-terms. Instead, we amended the transitional clause to say that the first president shall be elected by a constituent assembly and shall serve for three five-year terms. So it is specific to Sam Nujoma. The third term is a reward -- if you want to put it that way -- to Sam Nujoma by the Namibian people because he has done such a good job. The amendment does not automatically make Sam Nujoma president for a third term. He still must stand for elections and people can vote him out if they don't want him. So the will of the people will be done.
But why has there been so much opposition to the third term from the
press and opposition politicians?
Which press? Gwen Lister [editor of The Namibian]? The hue and cry
about the third term is empty noise by a tiny opposition and a press that
is out of tune with the wishes of the Namibian people. Our High Commissioner
in London [Ben Ulenga, a Swapo veteran] resigned because of the third term,
thinking that he would have a following. But nobody supported him.
Namibia has one of the freest presses in Africa. Why is your government
critical of the press?
Freedom of the press is one of the rights that you cannot amend. It's an
entrenched right in our constitution. So they can write and write until
they get tired. But what we are saying is that we also have our own freedom,
starting from the President. Somehow, if we are pointing out obvious mistakes
and unprofessional ways, it is being interpreted by some people like we
are criticizing the press. We are expressing our freedom of expression also.
We are pointing out that the press must also carry out its responsibility
of building the nation. Now if you just tell lies, write nonsense, insulting
the President, we are saying: Look at our culture as Africans. In African
culture, we respect our leaders. If I say that, that doesn't mean that I'm
against press freedom. I have my democratic right to tell them that they
are wrong.
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